Pokemon: The Shadow Battler
by drakn
Summary: He was known only as The Shadow Battler, the King of the Underground. Nothing was known of him, not even his name. He only used a Luxray to wipe the floor with any who dared challenge him. One day, Cynthia is asked to investigate an illegal tournament where Shadow was said to have been battling. What happens when she finds out that this prodigy trainer, is only a child.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She was here on business, this was illegal. It still didn't stop her from appreciating the powerful Luxray and his calm trainer as they annihilated their competition. She scanned the room, meeting the eyes of several undercover cops as she laid a hand on Garchomp's pokeball. After this last round…

"And the final match! Shadow versus Kane! Place your bets now, Shadow's Luxray, or Kane's Rhyperior! This will be a one-on-one battle like the rest and whoever wins gets the 10,000 poke dollar prize money!" The commentator let the roar of the crowd crescendo before turning back to the competitors, "Begin!"

Kane sneered at his opponent, "You have no chance, electric type moves won't do anything to Rhyperior! Rhyperior stone edge!"

Rhyperior roared and sharp rocks circled the pokemon before shooting toward the stoic Luxray.

A second before the rocks impacted Luxray, a single command was uttered, "Double team."

Luxray's form flickered and soon, they were all surrounding the rock pokemon. Kane's eyes narrowed as he snarled, "Earthquake."

Rhyperior slammed his leg into the ground causing the earth to tremble violently and as one, the Luxrays leapt into the air, "Iron tail," They dove toward the Rhyperior and swung their glowing tail at the stunned beast.

"Dodge it!" Kane yelled, watching as the beast slipped out of the way only to be hit by a full power hyper beam a second later. His eyes widened and turned to the source to find the original Luxray as the rest fizzled out of existence. "You tricked me," he snarled, glaring at the hooded figure.

Shadow scoffed, "And you fell for it. Luxray, giga impact."

Kane's eyes widened as he watched the electric pokemon coat himself in white as he shot towards the staggering Rhyperior. Luxray slammed into Rhyperior and backflipped away, landing smoothly on his paws. The smoke cleared and a fainted Rhyperior was revealed.

"Rhyperior!"

"Rhyperior is unable to battle, which means the victor is Shadow's Luxray once again!"

Cheers echoed throughout the arena as he lifted a pokeball and silently returned Luxray.

Cynthia slowly brought out Garchomp's ball and nodded at the surrounding officers. They quickly and quietly secured the perimeter. This was the best shot they were going to get. An official was walking toward the hooded figure grinning broadly.

"Congratulations once again to Shadow and his Luxray for wiping the floor with today's competition! Now as promised, the prize money-"

He was cut off as a hyper beam cut through the air, courtesy of Cynthia's Garchomp. At once, officers swarmed the competitors and blocked off all exits. Cynthia personally went towards Shadow, who had his arm raised to ward off the smoke.

When he finally lowered his arm, it was to the sight of the Champion and several officers surrounding him, Garchomp and Growlithes snarling menacingly.

The champion smiled calmly, "Why don't you come with us, Shadow."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, Thanks to everyone who read and Tisumi for reviewing. It really means a lot to me. Now, for the next chapter!**

Shadow brought down his arm, staring at the champion, "If you think I'll give in that easily, you're delusional," he stated, reaching for Luxray's pokeball.

"Stop him," Cynthia ordered. Garchomp could definitely take out his Luxray; however, it would give him time to escape, something he would most likely capitalize on, given his talent as a trainer.

Garchomp obeyed her command, lunging toward the trainer with an intimidating roar.

Shadow stared, ducking around the dragon at the last second and tossing out a pokeball, "Luxray, battle ready!"

Luxray exploded out of the ball with a loud roar, glaring fiercely at the Garchomp now standing at her trainer's side.

Cynthia bit back a curse. It would've been a lot easier to apprehend Shadow without his Pokemon getting in their way, but that was _obviously _too much to ask for.

"Garchomp, brick break!" she called out, throwing her arm out.

The giant dragon lunged at the quadruped, who crouched low to the ground, claws glowing ominously.

"Luxray, meet it head on with iron tail!" the lion sprang up, tail glowing white, and a snarl on his lips as he clashed ferociously with Garchomp.

The resulting wind of their encounter pushed the trainers back slightly, but also had the effect of blowing off Shadow's hood. The sight made her eyes widen and a gasp leave her.

He lifted his head, revealing annoyed orange eyes and hazel-brown hair. But the thing that surprised Cynthia was his age. With his face finally shown, she could see the youth in it. He looked 8 or 9, an age that normal trainers didn't even have pokemon. Then again, normal trainers didn't battle in illegal tournaments and weren't called the King of the Underground, so she'd let it slide this time.

Cynthia was too stunned to react as the Luxray leapt at Garchomp, tail glowing in an iron tail. Luckily, she wasn't alone. "Flamethrower!" The four Growlithes reacted to their trainer's orders and four sets of fire shot towards Luxray.

Shadow cursed under his breath and reached into his cloak, "If you're bringing other pokemon into this, then so will I! Tyranitar, battle ready!"

The green bipedal dinosaur erupted out of his pokeball with an ear-shattering roar, even Shadow winced slightly, in front of the flamethrowers, shielding Luxray from the brunt of the force. The lion didn't even bat an eye as it proceeded towards the dragon. By this time, Cynthia had regained her sense, "Dragon claw!" she called, eyes wandering to the Tyranitar roaring at the four growlithes.

Garchomp and Luxray clashed once again, sending waves of force crashing outwards, and pushing Shadow backwards to the surrounding officers and their pokemon.

Tyranitar immediately saw his trainers predicament and sent multiple dark pulses at the offending pokemon. Officer Jenny saw her chance as she ordered, "Growlithe flamethrower, Arcanine, grab him."

Four blasts of fire collided with the dark attacks and smoke exploded from the point of contact, billowing outward to coat the entire battlefield.

Arcanine obeyed Jenny and leapt at the unsuspecting trainer trying not to inhale smoke, slamming the young boy to the ground. Shadow let out a surprised yelp as the air was forcibly knocked out of his lungs. Tyranitar let out a roar of distress at the noise and Luxray growled worriedly. The smoke was eventually swept away as one of the officer's Staravia blew it away with a gust.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much to Devon2016 for reviewing! Really appreciate it!**

The Arcanine was pinning Shadow to the ground, his fangs flashed as they edged closer to his neck when Luxray stepped forward. Luxray snarled, but reluctantly stepped back when Arcanine growled threateningly. Tyranitar roared, and glared at the Arcanine. There was silence for a moment before Cynthia stepped forward.

"Well, now that that's settled-" the champion cut herself off as she saw Shadow subtly reaching for another pokeball, "Arcanine stop him!"

Arcanine's paw slammed into Shadow's wrist, eliciting a pained hiss from the downed trainer. "Alright, alright I give," he muttered, "Luxray, Tyranitar, stand down."

Both of them growled but backed up, Luxray lowered his head deferentially while Tyranitar huffed, annoyed.

Cynthia looked at the pokemon pinning Shadow, "Can you release him Arcanine?" The fire pokemon complied immediately, stepping away, but not before giving Shadow a warning growl. Shadow slowly stood up, carefully keeping his hands in view. Cynthia stepped forward, "Hand over your pokeballs," she said, "you can't win."

Shadow frowned uncertainly and looked to his pokemon. He hesitated before reaching into his cloak and dropping four pokeballs into the champions hand, "Better not release them. If they see you or the police, without me, there'll be hyper beams shooting everywhere," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Good to know I suppose," she said, pocketing the spherical objects, "now Luxray's and Tyranitar's," she once again held out her hand expectantly.

He scowled, "What're you planning on doing with my pokemon? They won't accept just being released into the wild. They'll find me again." At that, Luxray and Tyranitar roared their agreement, adding in multiple snarls and glares once they realized they drew the humans' attention.

Cynthia sighed, "We're only seperating you so you won't try to escape. After we ask a few questions and we _trust_ you, you'll get them back."

Shadow gazed warily at her, "Really? Why would you give them back?"

"I don't want to seperate trainer and pokemon, but what you're doing is illegal."

He glared at her, "I'm doing what I have to, to survive," he snarled, eyes flashing in rage.

Cynthia's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

Shadow reeled back, realizing what he said and snapping his jaw shut, "You wouldn't understand, just forget it," he murmured, looking away.

For the briefest moment, the champion saw regret, sorrow, and grief well up in his eyes, before it was wiped away and a blank look replaced it.

She sighed and lifted her hand slightly. Shadow took the hint and dropped two pokeballs into the champion's hand. She looked at them for a moment before enlarging them and pointing them at Luxray and Tyranitar, "Return." They snarled at the blonde, but at a look from their trainer, they reluctantly allowed themselves to be absorbed back into their capsule.

"Come on," Cynthia said, turning to meet the boy's gaze. Shadow grudgingly allowed himself to be herded to the back of the police truck by the growlithes and Arcanine. He stepped inside as Cynthia slipped into the passenger seat next to Officer Jenny. The door slammed shut and Jenny turned to Cynthia, "You don't have to come Miss Cynthia, we have this under control."

"Well," she murmured, glancing back at the scowling boy, "I have to admit I'm curious about the King of the Underground. Everything about him, his pokemon, his past. Just indulge me?"

"If you insist," the officer replied, starting the truck and heading straight to the police station with the infamous Shadow Battler in the back.

What could go wrong?


	4. Chapter 4

Apparently, a lot could go wrong.

When one officer accidentally bumped into Cynthia, he knocked a pokeball to the ground in the process. With an explosion of light and a boastful roar, an Aggron appeared, and true to Shadow's words, starting firing hyper beams carelessly when he couldn't find hide nor hair of his trainer. It took multiple flamethrowers, fireblasts, and a super effective earthquake from Garchomp to finally bring down the rampaging Aggron. Though many realized they could've just returned it to its ball after the fiasco was already over.

Cynthia sighed and rubbed her temple as she surveyed the damage the powerful iron armor pokemon had caused. The hope that _maybe _Tyranitar and Luxray were Shadow's only strong pokemon shot out the window, leaving broken fragments of glass and destrution and tiredness and- wait, no those were just the results of Aggron's hyper beams, never mind.

She eyed the remaining three pokeballs, idly wondering what other powerhouses Shadow could possibly have, when Officer Jenny walked briskly towards her. "Shadow is settled in one of the guest quarters with officers and their pokemon on guard at all times," she stated, saluting crisply.

"All right, make sure he doesn't escape," Cynthia replied smoothly, "I need to check what other pokemon this young mystery has without them blowing something up," she said with a pointed look at the destruction the Aggron had caused, "I'll contact Professor Rowan, he'll surely have something."

With that, Cynthia slipped the pokeballs into her coat pocket and swept out of the police station, humming softly under her breath.

Luckily, or unluckily, the station was fairly close to Sandgem town, so she didn't have much time to think about Shadow or his situation. She headed toward the lab before something caught her eye. An ice cream stand. Cynthia stood there staring, conflicted, before deciding the situation at hand was slightly, _just slightly_, more important than the delicious creamy goodness with chewy sprinkles and sugary chocolate syrup on top and the fudge swirl in the mid- she was getting off topic.

With a mournful sigh and a silent promise to get the frozen treat after this whole ordeal, Cynthia turned and headed to the Professor's lab, expertly ignoring the awed eyes that followed her everywhere she went. She stopped at the door, knocking politely and waiting patiently for the sound of footsteps.

The door opened and a gruff voice called out, "yes?" She was soon face to face with Professor Rowan, who eyed her in barely hidden surprise. "Ah, Cynthia. What can I do for you today?"

"We recently caught a... wayward youth, with powerful pokemon," she hesitantly replied, before taking out the three pokeballs. "We had the pleasure of battling two of them, and seeing a third display his incredible might on the local police station."

The professor, sharp as always, got where she was headed and cut her off, "You want to know what other pokemon he has without them causing any... major damage."

"Yes, that would be preferable, major damage is not good," Cynthia responded dryly.

It looked like Rowan barely refrained from rolling his eyes as he harrumphed, "Someone didn't get their morning ice cream," he muttered, swiping the pokeballs out of her hand and hurriedly striding toward the pokemon identifier. Despite his dismissive manner, it was obvious the professor was just as eager to find out the identity of the powerhouse pokemon.

The champion watched as he carefully slid in a pokeball before pressing a button. "Typhlosion, the volcano pokemon, the evolved form of Quilava," the machine spoke in a monotone voice, "It attacks using blasts of fire and creates heat shimmers with intense fire to hide itself."

"A Johto pokemon, and a starter no less," Professor Rowan said, sounding surprised, "This trainer of yours must've traveled around to get one of these."

Cynthia was surprised as well, narrowing her eyes in thought. A trainer this young catching a Cyndaquil? He wasn't old enough to get a starter, how did he get all these pokemon? This case was just getting more interesting. The further this went, the more questions she had, and it felt like the answers were right there, just out of reach, mocking her. She clenched her jaw slightly in frustration before beckoning the professor to continue.

Rowan took the signal and retracted the pokeball, placing the next one in and pressing a button, "Houndoom, the dark pokemon, the evolved form of Houndour. Houndoom's eerie howl is said to cause those who hear it to shudder in fear."

Cynthia frowned, Houndoom were fairly simple to get. Houndour was easy to catch and it didn't take too much effort to level it up and evolve it. It didn't seem to fit in with all the extraordinary pokemon Shadow caught. Her brow furrowed, and she closed her eyes, deep in thought.

She snapped her eyes open, her train of thought cut off at the loud beeping coming from the machine. She glanced over to see the professor had already switched in the last pokeball and the screen was blinking red. "Alert, alert, alert. Extinct pokemon detected. Aerodactyl, the fossil pokemon. An extinct flying type, assumed as a carnivore because of its sharp fangs and claws."

Cynthia's eyes widened.

What?


	5. Chapter 5

_"You are weak, a weak pathetic excuse of a son," the man sneered down at him, "You're not worth my time." He turned his back on the cowering five-year-old behind him, preparing to leave the kid on his own._

_"No! Please, I'll be better," the boy sobbed, "Don't leave! Dad!" He lunged forward, grasping the man's sleeve in his tiny hand. The man turned disgusted eyes on the child dirtying his suit. He roughly shook his leg, sending the boy flying away to slam into the metal boxes behind with a loud clang. The boy crumpled to the ground, breathless. He struggled to get up before collapsing on the aluminum tile underneath. "Please," he breathed, tears welling up in his orange eyes._

_The man stared before tossing a pokeball at the fallen boy. "Here," he said with derisive sneer, "this Shinx is weak and pitiful, just like you. A perfect match."_

_The boy reached out an arm and grasped the pokeball, turning to the man with a questioning look in his eye. The man just scoffed at his unasked question, "Take that Shinx, grow strong, if you can. Only then will I take you back, accept you into the family. Prove me wrong. Until then, you are worthless." With those last cutting words, the man turned around and walked away, not once glancing back at his now-sobbing five-year-old son._

_The boy clutched the pokeball to his chest as he released his tears, "We only have each other. You'll stay with me forever, won't you Shinx?" he asked in a trembling whisper. The pokeball warmed as if in response to his question. He gave a watery smile before the scene changed._

_"You'll never amount to anything... Losers will stay losers... Hah! What a weak Shinx! Just like its trainer... What'd you expect, he's worthless... Yeah, even his family knew it. They're too ashamed to associate with him. That's why he doesn't have any!"_

_He fell to his knees as the jeers from the kids continued. Then, the kids disappeared and the man showed up once again, his mouth moved but no sound came out. His lips curled into a smirk and he started to fade as the boy's vision darkened. "You're still too weak..." his final whispered words echoed through the boy's head and the last thing he saw through his blurry vision, was a bold red R, and a Persian with an arrogant visage so similar to its master's._

* * *

Shadow jerked awake, tears blurring his vision and chest burning from lack of oxygen. His hand scrambled to his belt to grab his pokeballs for reassurance but it only swiped through empty air. Panic swelled inside him and his chest heaved, breath quickening.

He heard shouts filter through his muffled ears but his brain didn't process the words. Hands and paws swiftly pinned down the struggling boy, who panicked even harder at the touch of foreign hands, nobody but his pokemon had ever been that close to him and without their protection, he was vulnerable. His struggling renewed, pushing violently at his captors and headbutting a furry snout above him that let out a surprised yelp.

Something about it made him stop and he peeled his eyes open and rubbed at them to reveal the police and their pokemon. His situation suddenly came rushing back to him, with no regard to his mental state, as he remembered that his pokemon, his friends, his _family_, were gone.

His gaze was drawn to the Arcanine he'd headbutted. It was scrunching up its nose and let out a sneeze that rocked its whole body. Shadow's heart clenched. The fire pokemon reminded him, not of the powerful Luxray he fought beside, but of the gentler, funny, fuzzball marshmallow he traveled around with. The big teddy bear he cuddled up with when he slept at night, the one he would rant to about arrogant trainers as they journeyed to wherever the road took them. And back then, when he was just a Shinx, those yellow eyes staring up at him, still so innocent and curious, despite all he'd went through, all he'd seen. The one that would hop on his head and just sit there, gazing at the world with the slightest hint of defiance in his eyes. The day when he'd finally evolved into a Luxio and finally a Luxray, he was still such a child at heart. He had danced happily, strutting back and forth in front of the trainer who watched him with fondness in his eyes, still too scarred to laugh, despite his partner's many attempts.

And now, now he was gone. They would reunite, yes, but how long until then? Shadow didn't like being without his pokemon, he felt vulnerable for the first time since Shinx evolved, like the sobbing, broken boy he had promised himself he would never become again.

He didn't like it one bit.


	6. Chapter 6

Shadow was strolling through the woods, hands jammed inside his pockets. He had managed to convince the officers to let him go without supervision, saying that he wouldn't leave his pokemon behind. They had eventually agreed, albeit very reluctantly, provided he stay inside a set area. The area was decent enough, but he needed alone time, somewhere to think. So he slipped through the boundaries while they weren't looking, and was now treading through the forest.

Shadow closed his eyes, inhaling the fresh scent in the air. He walked, pretending he was heading to another tournament, that everything was normal. Without the reassurance of Luxray however, the facade quickly fell apart. He leaned against a tree, thoughts swirling in his head. How was he going to leave? He needed to grab his pokeballs, then he could fly away on Aerodactyl. He needed to gain the champion's trust, then-

The rustling of a bush snapped him out of his thoughts. His head snapped up to see a blue-haired guy with a gold G on his chest. Shadow frowned, his hair kinda looked like cat ears...

He stiffened when he saw the smirk on the guy's face and a Toxicroak emerge from the shadows. "Who are you?" Shadow hissed, eyes narrowed. His hand brushed his belt, before he realized with a sinking heart that he was completely defenseless. He cursed silently under his breath, searching for any way out of his current predicament. If only he had Luxray... there would be fried frog for dinner.

Cat-ears noticed the absence of pokeballs, "Lose something?" he asked with a sneer.

Shadow scowled, "Get lost."

Cat-ears smirked, "I'm afraid not, boy. As for your previous question, I am Saturn, commander of Team Galactic."

"What does Team Galactic want with me?"

"Oh, we just heard around that a certain Team Rocket leader wants you. Our spies say he's coming personally to Sinnoh," Saturn's eyes narrowed, "But, he isn't welcome in Sinnoh. We'll teach him that Sinnoh belongs to Team Galactic. Toxicroak, poison sting," he yelled, throwing his arm to the side.

Shadow cursed, ducking behind a tree to dodge the lethal attacks heading his way. There was a loud crash as the tree he was hiding behind got destroyed by a powerful shadow ball.

He leapt out of the way, rolling under another hail of toxic spikes, weaving in and out of trees, desperately searching for the police station. It was fairly easy to avoid the Galactic commmander, his Toxicroak wasn't being very subtle, trees were knocked over, and explosions were everywhere. He must've headed out further than he thought if there weren't officers on the scene already.

Shadow dodged another falling tree before skidding to a halt at the sight of the Purugly and another person with a gold G embroided in her attire. She had red hair with a spike at the front and an arrogant sneer etched on her face.

"Well, well," she said, condescendingly, "Saturn can't even catch a little whelp, he must be growing soft. No matter, we'll finish this. Purugly, shadow ball!"

Orange eyes widened and he turned to bolt after dodging the shadow ball. A voice stopped him in his tracks, "Rock tomb."

A cage of rocks surrounded him, the only escape being the one the two galactic members were standing at.

Shadow backed up, eyes searching for something, anything, that could help him.

"Let's finish this," the female ordered with a smirk, "Purugly, shadow claw!"

Purugly yowled, lunging at the young boy pressed against the rocks, claws glowing an ominous purple. Shadow brought his arm up to shield his face, staring defiantly up at the snarling cat above him. He closed his eyes in anticipation, but a flash of light made him glance up. He opened his eyes just in time to see the hyper beam that smashed Purugly into the wall, a loud draconic roar echoing in the rocky prison.


	7. Chapter 7

Shadow jerked his head up in his surprise as he stared at the Garchomp roaring at the heavens, her blonde trainer standing elegantly beside her.

Saturn cursed, "Toxicroak, poison sting!" Toxicroak released a barrage of needles at the stationary dragon who stared, unperturbed, at the needles of death flying at her. Garchomp only raised a wing to protect her face, shaking off the attack with ease.

"Garchomp, dragon rush," the dragon launched towards Toxicroak, an etheral blue glow cloaking her as she slammed into the stunned pokemon. She leaped back, surveying the damage she'd done to the fainted frog.

"Next time, champion," Saturn growled, returning Toxicroak, before he backed up to his fellow galactic commander, grasping a pokeball, "Kadabra, teleport." In a flash of light, both the galactic members, and their pokemon, were gone.

Cynthia frowned, "They got away..." she murmured under her breath before turning to Shadow. "What're you doing so far from the station?"

Shadow scowled, examining the damage the pokemon had done to him. He had multiple scuff marks and a deep gash on his arm where he had shielded his face from a falling tree. "It's not my fault the officers are incompetent," he muttered, glaring at the champion.

She walked briskly to him and firmly gripped his arm, concern leaking into her eyes, "we should get this checked out, wouldn't want it to get infected."

Shadow narrowed his eyes and jerked his arm roughly out of her hold, "I can take care of myself!" he snarled, "And besides, if you really cared, give back my pokemon so I won't be so defenseless next time!"

Cynthia gazed at him, her steel-gray eyes boring into him, and he resisted the urge to flinch. She closed her eyes and reached into her coat pocket. She brought out a pokeball, examining it before turning her gaze at him. The champion's eyes were stern and unyielding as she handed the capsule to Shadow, "I'm only doing this because I believe you care for your pokemon and you won't try to escape, at least, not without all of your pokemon."

Shadow watched her warily as she extended her hand holding the pokeball. As it got closer, his eyes were inevitably drawn towards the ball. Almost shaking with excitement, he lunged forward and grasped the ball, cradling Houndoom's pokeball in his hands. Joy danced in his eyes and he willingly followed the champion back to the station, orange eyes fixed on the precious sphere wrapped in his hands.

* * *

"I can't believe you imbeciles let a child escape!" the annoyed voice came from a purple haired woman and was directed to the two holograms in front of her, the two galactic commanders.

"Shut up Jupiter!" the redhead snarled, "you wouldn't be able to catch him either, not with the champion there."

"Agreed," the calm voice of Saturn filled the tense atmosphere, "though, wasn't it your job to preoccupy the champion and the officers?"

Jupiter frowned, adjusting the police uniform she wore, "the champion was gone when I infiltrated the station. Luckily, the Officer Jenny I knocked out was a high ranking one, so not many questioned my order to let the kid go on his own. I even got mos of them to take a lunch break and skip the work day."

Saturn lifted his eyebrows in surprise, "That's why there weren't any officers on the scene," he realized.

The team galactic commander smirked smugly before picking up a blue police hat and checking herself over once, "now if you'll excuse me, I have to make sure Officer Jenny doesn't wake up and ruin everything." She reached over and pushed a button, causing the holograms to flicker and die out a moment later.

Saturn stared at the empty screen before pushing a few buttons and turning to watch the screen blaze to life once more, "Cyrus sir," he said, dipping his head slightly in respect, "Unfortunately, we weren't able to get rid of the kid, but we won't stop until we do."

The room was dark, the only thing visible was the figure's piercing blue eyes and striking blue hair. When he spoke, it was in a deep monotone that still, to this day, made the galactic commander shiver slightly in fear.

"Good, make sure you deal with that Rocket pest. Sinnoh belongs to Team Galactic. He won't ruin our plans, not again."

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I'm gonna start slowing the chapter release now. School's starting in less than a month and I have summer work that I completely procrastinated on. Thanks for sticking with this and reading! See ya next time. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

The champion and her charge got back to the station to a scene of chaos. Officers were scrambling with their pokemon and she could see smoke rising from the second floor. Her eyes sharpened and she quickly snagged the sleeve of a panicked officer.

"What's going on here?" she asked, eyes narrowed, voice firm.

The officer straightened and did a clumsy mix of a bow and a salute, "Ch-champion," he stuttered, "wh-what an honor!"

Cynthia could immediately tell this officer was new. In situations like these, minimalizing damage was much more important than respect, and from the quiet snort Shadow gave, he thought the same. Or maybe he just thought it was funny how her presence made the officer almost trip over his own feet.

She glanced over and saw the amused smirk Shadow was giving the newbie, it was definitely the latter. Cynthia sighed before directing her attention back to the awed officer. "What, is going on over here?" she asked, giving a pointed glance at the smoke.

That seemed to snap him out of his awe-induced trance and back into panic mode, "It's Team Galactic!" he exclaimed, paling in fear, "They're here!"

Cynthia turned towards the young trainer beside her, "Come on, you're staying with me," her voice was stern and brooked no arguement. Shadow huffed in annoyance but followed her into the chaos without complaint. Though, she made a mental note to drop into the police training camp and see how the other newbies were like as she caught sight of the cowering officer out of the corner of her eye.

They rushed toward the smoke, the champion continuously glancing back to make sure Shadow was still there. The youth had a hand wrapped around Houndoom's pokeball, calculating orange eyes taking in everything. They rounded a corner, almost crashing into a stunned galactic grunt.

He jerked back, surprise and fear flickering in his eyes, "It's the champion! The champion's here!"

That set off a chain reaction. Flashes of light immediately filled the air as pokemon were released from their capsules. It was obvious from the zubats swarming the place, that there were no high ranking members around.

Cynthia reached for Garchomp's pokeball, but stopped when she saw Shadow toss out his own pokemon, "Houndoom battle ready!" Excitement gleamed in his orange eyes and she let her hand drop away, watching in interest as the powerful Houndoom faced off against the crowd of zubats.

Shadow smirked as he threw his arm out, "Let's get rid of these roaches, Houndoom. Fire blast!" Houndoom roared, a spiral of flame shot towards the galactic pokemon and engulfed them in a tornado of fire. Zubats dropped like flies, charred and fainted. Houndoom looked so pleased, reveling in his overwhelming victory, that he didn't see the ball of purple hurtling towards him at an incredible speed.

His trainer didn't notice either, hand held to his face in an effort to shield himself from the increased amount of smoke Houndoom's fire blast had produced. The dark pokemon noticed at the last second, turning his head in alarm as his ears caught the buzz of condensed power. It was a second too late. Skuntank slammed into Houndoom in a devastating giga impact, sending him crashing back towards the wall.

Shadow's eyes widened in alarm, "Houndoom!" the smoke hid his view of the downed pokemon, but he searched frantically with his eyes, hoping to penetrate the thick smoke in the air. The smoke slowly cleared away, and his eyes widened at the purple haired galactic commander and her Skuntank standing beside her. "You!" he snarled, orange eyes blazing, "What're you doing here?"

She smirked, bringing one hand up to stroke Skuntank, "Did you really think we would give up after that small setback?" she purred, eyes gleaming in sadistic glee, "No, you'll pay for what you did to us back then, and if Rocket boy happens to get mad, well, that's just a bonus. Skuntank, hyper beam!"

The skunk pokemon opened its maw, raw power condensing quickly, and speeding towards Houndoom. Houndoom had stood up, staggering slightly, and spotted the hyper beam heading towards him. He dove out of the way, pulling himself up and baring his teeth at Skuntank.

"Do you really think you can beat me?" Shadow snarled, "I beat you once before and I'll do it again! Houndoom, fire fang!"

"Cocky brat! Skuntank, dodge, then iron tail!" Houndoom's jaw lit up with flame and he lunged at Skuntank, snarling. Skuntank dove out of the way, and Houndoom spun gracefully to face the skunk pokemon as soon as his front paws touched the ground. Skuntank jumped, flipping in the air as his tail hardened and headed straight towards Houndoom.

Cynthia clenched her hand around Garchomp's pokeball. Shadow was just watching as the galactic pokemon descended upon Houndoom, if he didn't do something soon, the iron tail would hit Houndoom. She unclipped Garchomp's ball, ready to let her dragon enter the fray, when she saw the vicious smirk that came upon Shadow's face.

"Hyper beam! Full power!" he yelled, throwing his arm out. The champion's own arm faltered at the sheer speed Houndoom had gathered the energy needed to decimate his opponent. A second before Skuntank hit him with an iron tail, a hyper beam exploded out of his maw, contacting Skuntank at point blank range.

Skuntank howled in pain and surprise as the powerful attack slammed him into a wall. The wall was heavily damaged already and the addition of a Skuntank sized hole was too much. It collapsed on top of Skuntank, sending dust and debris flying into the air. Both trainers held up an arm to once again shield themselves from the particles in the air.

There was a flash of red light and a voice shouted, "This isn't over rocket scum! You'll regret the day you crossed Team Galactic!"

As the dust settled, Shadow cursed at the sight, "She's gone..."


	9. Chapter 9

Shadow shifted uncomfortably under the champion's stern gaze, curling his fingers around Houndoom's pokeball as it warmed comfortingly.

The silence stretched longer until Cynthia sighed tiredly and crossed her arms.

"Are you going to tell me why you were so far away from headquarters?"

Shadow snorted, muttering under his breath, "Not my fault they're so incompetent." In the face of her arched eyebrow, he just turned away, lip almost, _almost_ curled into a pout.

It was times like these that the champion was reminded that despite his prodigious talent as a trainer, he was still first and foremost, a child. One that was lacking a proper childhood, family, and friends, well human ones at least. That thought made her heart squeeze uncomfortably and a feeling twinged in her chest, shouting at her to be noticed.

She ignored it, pushing it down where it couldn't influence her decisions, at least, that's what she told herself as she spoke up before the silence could continue for too long, "I never knew you had a past with Team Galactic."

It was spoken casually, like a passing thought, but they both knew that was a question she desperately wanted answered, they could both feel the accusation, question, and threat the simple sentence carried.

But Shadow just scoffed, brushing it off as casually as it was mentioned, "You don't know anything about me."

Cynthia leaned forward, steepling her fingers together on the desk as she stared at the young boy, "True, very true. So tell me, _Shadow_," she emphasized the last word as she cocked her head, "will you finally tell me your name?"

Silence. The silence was stifling as he stared, expressionless, at the champion in front of him. He had tensed up, fingers clenched in a death grip around Houndoom's pokeball. Though they both knew he would get destroyed in a battle right now, he took comfort in the familiar heat surrounding the fire type's capsule.

Their gazes were locked together, steel gray clashing with blazing orange, both waiting for the other to cave in an intense staring contest.

Shadow's back was facing the door, Cynthia directly facing it. Only one of them saw it as a police officer raced to the door, panic written on his face. It wasn't Shadow.

The door slammed open, causing the unsuspecting youth to jump in alarm, eyes snapping to the intruder. When he verified it wasn't a threat, he turned his attention back to Cynthia, just in time to see the smug smirk gracing her lips.

At that, his lips curled into a petulant scowl, not bothering to hide his feelings as he grumbled under his breath, "cheater."

That only made her smirk more pronounced as she turned her attention to the alarmed officer, "what's wrong," her calm voice soothed the officer as he managed to spit out a sentence.

"It's Team Rocket," he gasped, leaning on the doorway as he fought to regain his breath, "they're here."

Time slowed to a stop for the young trainer as his thoughts sped up. He could barely see as the champion of Sinnoh murmured to the officer, his vision was clouded in pure white terror as memories of his youth assaulted him. He could barely hear the words spoken to him over the thundering and swift pounding of his heartbeat.

They didn't seem to notice as his breath sped up and he started shaking, wrapping his arms around himself protectively. But why would they? Even if they did, they probably wouldn't care. No one ever did. He didn't, _wouldn't_, ever forget that. His whole life was based on a single concept.

_Humans couldn't be trusted._

He broke out of his trance as the champion left, leaving him in the hands of a terrified officer. He mentally snorted, if they knew of his connection to the leader of Team Rocket, they wouldn't leave him so easily.

Shadow reined in his emotions as the officer turned to him, he was older, more mature. He wouldn't let a childhood trauma control his life. And he would never show weakness. That was drilled into him before he could even walk, and was just reinforced as time went on.

So his face was completely blank as he met the eyes of the officer, which turned out not to actually be one.

After a confirmatory examination of him and a glance over his shoulder to make sure they were alone, he straightened up and rapped his fist to his chest in a salute.

"Young master, it's good to see you're okay," with those words, his other hand reached into a pocket and pulled out a necklace with the red rocket R proudly gleaming on the end. The rocket grunt disguised as an officer draped it over his gloved hand so the right side was facing Shadow before handing it to him.

Shadow hesitated, considering the offering before reaching out and skimming the cool metal surface. A pause, then he scooped it up by the chain and looped it over his head, meeting the rocket's eyes as it rested comfortably on his collarbone.

The grunt lowered his eyes immediately when the necklace settled, "the boss has seen your skill and invites you back into the ranks, young master."

Shadow tilted his head as he spoke, "unfortunately, all but one of my pokemon are in the possession of the champion right now."

"Don't worry young master, the boss is personally going to get your pokemon back."

"Well then," he drawled, "I suppose I _am_ getting tired of the scenery."

With a flash of light, Houndoom exploded from his ball, smashing into one of the walls and obliterating the cell.

Shadow walked out, squinting against the blinding light as he returned Houndoom. He mentally snorted as he thought about how two wanted organizations had managed to easily infiltrate the police. They seriously needed to up their game. It was pathetic really. The rocket grunt had left and his necklace was tucked safely out of view under his shirt. He was just a normal kid.

Maybe this story would've turned out differently if any of the bystanders stopped to question why this random 8 year-old kid was nonchalantly walking out of a burning wall with a hole in it. But no one did.

Though he did garner a few odd looks.

* * *

_AN: Hey guys, so sorry for the long wait. I'm really busy right now since I just started high school and I'm really stressed out. If any of you have tips for me, I'd really appreciate it. Sorry again for the wait, and big thanks to everyone who stuck with it. Hope to see you guys next chappie!_


	10. Chapter 10

A figure was perched on the roof of a building, the wind ruffling his hazel-brown hair, the dark of night accentuating his glowing orange eyes. His arms were crossed to ward off the chilling temperature the night brought out, his feet warmed by the dark pokemon curled around them.

A cacophony of noise brought him out of his thoughts and Houndoom to his paws. Orange eyes narrowed and he reached up, finger brushing a spherical, rainbow colored orb hanging from his neck.

Tendrils of light exploded out of it at an unspoken command from the youth. They reached out to the ones coming from a red and black pendant swinging from around Houndoom's neck. The instant they touched, an explosion of light pierced the all-consuming darkness for a brief moment before everything faded to black.

Looming over the small boy, Houndoom's bone armor had expanded to cover more of his back, his tail splitting into two sharp points at the end, horns sticking straight up and four menacing spikes of bone jutted out from his collar.

The boy reached over, hand firmly clasping one of the spikes, and hauling himself atop the dark pokemon. "C'mon Houndoom, it's time—" His voice was cut off and shadows swarmed over both of their forms, whispering and cackling.

"Stop this foolish crusade. You cannot eradicate the shadows!" A maniacal laugh rang out from the ever darkening scene as whispered words filtered through the haze starting to consume him, "You cannot win. Join us, Ruler of Darkness, retake your rightful place..." the hissed voice faded out and a flash of lightning lit up the night, burning an image deep into his mind. One he would never forget, despite the time that had passed. His patron, his protector, his guardian. Giratina.

Shadow bolted up, clutching his hand to his chest and feeling the rapid thrum of his pounding heart. He swallowed thickly against his dry throat, breath coming in low pants. Why? Why was she appearing in his dreams now? He staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall and bringing his hand up to cradle his head.

He took deep breaths and waited for his scattered mind to piece together his recent vision. Orange eyes narrowed in thought as he honed in on a significant aspect of the dream. He had heard whispers and rumors of the next evolution, though he never really believed it himself; mega evolution.

It required the human to have a keystone and their pokemon to have the respective mega stone dependent on their breed. Their bond also needed to be remarkably strong, though he didn't think that was a problem. The bigger challenge was where to find them.

Shadow's lips curled into an amused smirk as he watched the nearest pokemon center's screen playing strips of his battle against the galactic's pokemon, and the news reporter telling the public to be aware of this "potentially dangerous pyromaniac," as it showed him walking away from the burning hole in the cell wall.

He gave an amused snort, it was the only way out of that prison. He didn't like setting things on fire any more than the next guy... okay, maybe a little more. That doesn't mean he's a pyromaniac, it just means everyone hates fire and he didn't mind it.

The smirk dropped from him and he leaned forward, eyes narrowing in anticipation as the screen switched to show the champion and her garchomp facing off against Team Rocket members and... dad.

Shadow's breath hitched slightly and he closed his eyes, forcefully shoving the onslaught of memories and emotions back deep into his mind. He crossed his arms and let the news reporter's words filter through his ears as his labored breath slowly turned normal.

"... and today, there has been yet another attack on the police department and Sinnoh's very own champion, Cynthia. The first was an attack on the building by Team Galactic, and the other was directly against Cynthia. The confirmed Team Rocket leader, Giovanni, attacked the champion when she was alone along with a multitude of grunts. She held them off, but in the chaos, a grunt's Gengar was able to get away with 5 pokeballs, however Cynthia confirmed they weren't hers and hinted to a mysterious boy. One has to wonder, are the police really able to protect this city? And how much power do these teams really possess? Now onto the weather..."

Shadow pushed off the wall he was leaning against and turned to walk deeper into the alley, pulling his hood firmly over his head to hide his hazel-brown hair. He shoved his hand in his pocket, pulling out something and slipping them into his eyes. When he glanced up, his eyes were now a dull brown instead of their usual piercing orange.

A light scuff on the pavement in front of him drew his attention and he turned his head to see a rocket agent standing there, five shrunken pokeballs clasped in his outstretched hands, "The boss asked me to give these to you, young master."

Shadow gave a bitter laugh as he reached out and swept the five into his hands, the familiarity of it brought him comfort and he felt something finally settle in his soul. "So, he couldn't even find the time to come say hello after all these years. Somehow, I'm not surprised."

He slipped the pokeballs into a pouch strapped onto the side of his hip and the comforting weight it brought relaxed him slightly. "I guess I should say thanks," he murmured, turning away and walking off.

"W-wait!" he stopped, turning his head to glance back at the surprised grunt, "where're you going?"

Shadow shrugged, "I have something I need to take care of..." he turned and trudged off, hands shoved into his pockets and thoughts set on the contents of his dream.

_AN: Ok, so I know mega stones don't exist right now if we're going by canon, but canon literally doesn't exist in this story sooo... what canon?_


	11. Chapter 11

"Come to me," a voice hissed from beneath the writhing shadows, "free me as I have done for you."

A cloaked figure stepped forward, kneeling down, head bowed, "where are you?" he murmured, "where are they keeping you?"

"You're not ready... you're not strong enough," the shadows shifted as the being hiding in its depths moved closer to the human, "but you can be."

The boy's head lifted, bright orange clashing with piercing red, "how?" It was a single word, a single word that would change the very fabric of the universe.

The darkness parted as a snout pushed through it and the mythical renegade pokemon appeared in all her glory.

"Find the stones, the ones created by the legendaries of Kalos," her voice had changed, from a snake-like hiss to more regal, one befitting the dragon's form.

"Stones?"

A claw came toward him, something looped around it. As it came closer, his eyes widened and his mind raced. It was the same as the one in his dream. Giratina dropped the thin chain around his neck, and he watched as the shiny stone clacked against his rocket pendant before coming to rest at his collarbone.

"The keystone." When she spoke up again, it broke him out of his thoughts, bringing his head up to once again lock eyes with the legendary. "Something capable of bringing out the full power of certain pokemon when paired up with their respective species. You've seen their power first hand with Houndoom-" A bright flash of light. Fire burning in the background. A choked scream. "It will boost your power exponentially. But first, you must master their power."

Another claw extended, flipping over and opening to reveal a dull green orb with a dashing red stripe in the middle, "The Tyranitarite."

Shadow reached out, grasping the orb carefully in his hands. The second his fingers wrapped around the orb, darkness started seeping into his vision and his muscles trembled as he collapsed, his body unable to hold his weight.

She whispered to him as his mind slowly faded into the other world, "Experiment with its power. Find the other mega stones. But be wary, once they see the power you wield, they'll come for you. There will always be those who seek power. I'll be watching, don't disappoint me, human..."

Orange eyes snapped open, a hand automatically reaching up to clasp at his pendant. It closed around a smooth orb that radiated warmth, and the breath swept out of him in a sigh of relief. So it wasn't just a dream.

He pulled Tyranitar's pokeball out, running his eyes over the polished sheen before pushing the button embedded in the middle.

Tyranitar burst out in an explosion of light, a mighty roar released from his maw. The noise echoed in the area, scaring off the wild pokemon, and Shadow grimaced, mentally thanking the fact that he had made camp in the forest tonight.

He didn't dwell on that thought process for long as his eyes settled on the stone resting on the chain links draped around the armor pokemon's neck. He felt it as the keystone pulsed and heated up, reacting to the close proximity of the tyranitarite and the excitement that thrummed through its wielders veins.

The tyranitarite itself glowed brightly and Shadow could _feel_ the bond between them, Tyranitar's emotions heightened as if it were his own. He locked eyes with his pokemon and the tilted grin full of sharp teeth did nothing but encourage him as he reached up to grab the pendant.

A shout broke through the hypnotic silence, and it was only instinct that made him jerk a pokeball out of his pocket, Tyranitar disappearing in a beam of light. He was only able to turn his head a fraction of a degree before something rammed into him, hard.

The youth was sent sprawling into the ground, dragging in a shocked breath as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He lifted his head to see a boy a few years his senior, sneering down at him, a Raticate squeaking a laugh next to him.

"Oi kid," the boy curled his lip derisively, "watch where you're going." He lifted a hand up to his chin as if thinking, before he smirked cruelly, "Actually, I think you hurt my pinky toe with your scrawny body. I think you'll have to pay the medical bill." He let out a laugh as he stalked forward, Raticate following behind, looming above Shadow menacingly.

"Oi, you deaf?" he thrust his hand into Shadow's chest, shoving him hard and knocking him back to the ground.

Shadow was breathing hard, his shoulders trembling as tried to hold in his growing rage. But it was futile. He barely got any sleep, Giratina's warning was in the forefront of his mind, and this jackass was giving him a throbbing headache. Not to mention he reminded him of his old bullies, coupled with the fact that the power the keystone was feeding him was begging to be released.

Shadow lifted his head, eyes glowing an ethereal orange. "If it's a battle you want, I'll destroy you," an undercurrent of venom ran in his words that made the bully swallow and step back unconsciously.

He opened his suddenly dry mouth to retort, but was cut off as a green, bipedal dinosaur erupted into view.

"Th-th-that's im-p-p-possible," he stuttered, stumbling back a few steps, his face an unhealthy shade of green.

Shadow wasn't finished. Not yet. His eyes glowed and his hand snapped up to close around the keystone hanging around his neck.

Tendrils of light so similar to those in his dream burst out of the orb, snaking their way to meet the ones connected to the Tyranitarite. They collided in a bright flash of light, and an invigorated roar filled the air as Shadow felt something, connect.

He could feel Tyranitar's emotion acutely. As if it were his own. The unadulterated fury at the audacity of this human, the bloodthirsty part of him straining to rip its way out of the chains confining it, the adrenaline rushing through him, every part of his soul thrumming with power.

Tyranitar's head turned minutely, locking eyes and head tilting slightly. A question in his eyes.

Shadow smirked, it was time, to test this new power. A nod was all it took for the dinosaur to explode into motion, bearing down on the terrified Raticate and its cowering trainer.

Far off in the Kalos region, two pairs of eyes snapped open, turning simultaneously in the direction of the power surge they felt, the direction of the Sinnoh region.


	12. Chapter 12

His back rested against the rough bark of the tree, a foot dangling off the branch he was situated on. Sprawled beneath him was a Luxray, his head tucked on his paws, body relaxed. Shadow closed his eyes and relished the feel of the cool wind that whipped through his hair.

The trial to get most of his pokemon a mega stone brought him back to the underground. After the annoying fiasco last time, he was careful to keep an eye out for any suspicious members and kept his hood thrown over his head, mindful to cover any of his defining features, especially his blazing orange eyes.

Currently, all his pokemon who were capable of mega evolving possessed the mega stone respective to their species. They were quite expensive to pick up from the black market, but it took far less time than to actively look for one of the rare stones.

A twitch from Luxray brought him out of his thoughts as the pokemon brought his head up to stare into the surrounding foliage. Shadow tensed slightly as the sound of excited chatter touched his ear.

Three people pushed the bushes aside and stepped into the light. Shadow shifted slightly as he tried to peer at them without alerting them to his presence, especially the pikachu sitting on the shoulder of the raven-haired boy. There were two others flanking him, one male, the other a female. The male had spiky brown hair and squinted eyes that made them look as if they were closed. The female had on a white hat with blue hair touching both shoulders and a pink skirt and boots.

Their reaction to seeing Luxray was amusing to say the least. The one with the pikachu immediately brightened before tossing out his arm for the electric mouse to leap off of, pikachu landing neatly and lowering himself to the ground in a clear battle stance, his cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Ash!" the female cried, alarmed, "Do you even know what that pokemon is?"

The raven blinked before chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Uh, I guess I don't."

The other two sighed, as if expecting nothing less and Shadow rolled his eyes while watching this all unfold, 'How dim is this guy?'

The now-named Ash whipped out a pokedex and pointed it at the tense Luxray. "Luxray, the gleam eyes pokemon, the evolved form of Luxio, Luxray's ability to see through objects comes in handy when it's scouting for danger."

"Sweet!" Ash yelled, pumping his fist, "I'm gonna catch it!"

Luxray's ear flicked, and from this distance, Shadow couldn't tell if it was from annoyance or amusement. His head turned slightly until he was glancing at his trainer from the corner of his eye, though to anyone watching, he'd just be glancing at a tree.

Shadow gave a slight nod to the watching pokemon, _play along_. He leaned back against the tree and watched as Luxray focused his attention on pokemon in front of him.

"Pikachu, quick attack!" Ash shouted, throwing out his arm. The electric mouse responded swiftly to his trainer's command, blurring out of view towards Luxray. Luxray's eyes glowed as Pikachu briefly vanished behind a rock and the lion lightly pushed off his paws to launch himself out of the way of the silvery flash that barreled into the spot he was at before.

A sharp inhale from one of the raven's companions caused Shadow to turn his attention to the male, ignoring the childish _game _his partner was being subjected to. Even with his slant eyes, he managed to portray his shock clearly for his friend, who turned to look worriedly at him.

"What's wrong Brock?"

"That Luxray, he's faster than any pokemon I've ever seen. He avoided Pikachu's quick attack with ease, and he's easily battling Pikachu, but just watch Dawn, he hasn't used any moves yet."

Shadow almost snorted at that remark. If they thought Luxray was actually doing this with the intent of _battling_, they were sadly mistaken. He could tear through that little mouse with ease if he so chose to, insinuating that Luxray was actually trying against this weakling was insulting to say the least.

Shadow caught the eye of his partner and brought his hand up before letting it fall in a downward swipe. Luxray immediately understood, dodging an electric covered mouse dashing towards him in a volt tackle, before striking back for the first time since the start of the battle.

Electricity shrouded the gleam eyes pokemon and he bolted towards the small mouse, smashing into it and easily catapulting the pikachu into a tree, the trunk splintering under the force as pikachu fell to the forest floor, landing softly on the moss covered floor, fainted.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted, racing to cradle his fallen friend. Shadow rolled his eyes as his partner flinched slightly from the recoil as he landed smoothly on the ground. That wild charge was just Luxray boasting his power, he could've gotten the same result with a bite or thunder fang, but no, he decided to go the flashy way. Shadow couldn't stop the wave of fond amusement that rushed through him at that thought, _truly Luxray hadn't changed at all._

__A/N: Yeah so... sorry about the wait. F___air warning here, my schedule is really erratic and there might be times that I stop writing for some reason or another, but I'll try to always have this story in the back of my mind and come back to it when I have time,__ and thanks all for reading and I hope you enjoyed!_


	13. Chapter 13

"Piplup, spotlight!" the shout from the blue-haired girl, Dawn, broke Shadow from his reminiscent thoughts, turning to watch in slight disbelief as the blue penguin burst from her ball.

He didn't bother to even try and contain his laugh this time, drawing the three trainers' attention away from Luxray and onto him, not that they could see him through the foliage.

"Who's there?" Ash shouted, his newly recovered pikachu adding his own voice to his trainer's call. Shadow pushed off the branch he was resting against, landing neatly on the ground. Luxray blurred into motion as he stopped beside his trainer, drawing himself up to loom intimidatingly over the humans.

Shadow sneered in contempt at the Piplup, before turning to her trainer, "I can't believe you wanted my Luxray to fight a water type, much less the first evolution of a _starter. _I let the fight continue cuz I thought the guy with the pikachu might actually be strong, but after seeing the company he keeps, I rescind that statement." With an annoyed huff, he turned around, beckoning Luxray to follow with a nod as he walked away from them.

At least, that was the plan. "Hey! Don't talk to Dawn like that!" Ash yelled, stepping forward. Shadow sighed and turned around, eyeing the raven with an uninterested air.

"Yeah? Let's quit the chit-chat. Just say what you're gonna do about it, or shut up and don't make a fool of yourself."

"Let's have a battle! If I win, you apologize to Dawn!" Ash shouted, Pikachu's cheeks sparking as the mouse bared his fangs.

Shadow's orange eyes scanned the trainer in front of him before flicking to the Pikachu on his shoulder, "Fine," he sighed, "I guess I am curious as to how strong you are."

His eyes darted to Luxray and the pokemon immediately understood, positioning himself in front of his trainer. "Let's see if you can actually land a hit on Luxray this time."

Ash frowned and his brows furrowed, looking deep in thought as he withdrew a pokeball from his belt and hurled it onto the field, "Torterra, I choose you!"

The continent pokemon burst from the ball, shaking the earth as his weight smashed into the ground and he released a loud roar. A gleam of interest and excitement lit up Shadow's eyes as he smirked, "looks like you do have a brain after all."

Anger sparked in Ash's eyes and his mouth opened, but before he impulsively shouted something, Shadow spoke, eyes narrowing in deadly concentration, "Luxray crunch!"

The lion blurred forward, a startling contrast to the eerie stillness of before, and pushed off the ground, fangs glowing a dark, menacing color as he closed in on Torterra.

"Torterra, razor leaf!" A wave of leaves materialized and shot towards the incoming pokemon. Without a word from his trainer, the glow from the crunch disappeared as electricity gathered in his open maw and rocketed towards the leaves, incinerating them on contact and powering through to smash Torterra on the top of the head.

Torterra roared, claws digging into the ground as the charge beam slowly dissipated and he shook his head fiercely to rid himself of the slight dizziness.

"Torterra! You okay?" The pokemon grunted, glaring at the luxray across from him as his trainer shouted another order, "Alright Torterra! Get 'im with earthquake!"

The continent pokemon reared up, power gathering in his forelegs, but right as he was about to unleash a devastating attack to the electric pokemon, glowing silver blades whipped toward Torterra, creating an immense cloud of dust to explode upon impact.

Shadow raised his arm to ward off the smoke, a scowl set firmly on his face at the similarity of his current situation to when he first met the champion. A light nudge from his side brought his orange eyes to rest on the gleam-eyes pokemon standing confidently to his side, a sight that softened his harsh look.

His eyes turned back to the main scene as the unmistakable cry of a Staraptor filled the air and the dust was quickly blown away by his powerful wings.

Standing between him and the three trainers were two humans, one with red hair, one with blue, with a Dustox and a Meowth between them, the cat holding a lumpy sack between his paws. But his eyes were drawn to something else. The bold, striking capital R on the front of each of their shirts.

He frowned and his brows furrowed, what were they doing here? As the three started with their over-the-top speech, his eyes strayed to the meowth, or more specifically, his cargo. The bag jerked suddenly as its occupant moved, a little blue snout sticking its way out of the hole in the top.

When the little dragon was almost out, the meowth noticed, stopping his little rhyme to wrestle the Gible back in the bag as the land shark pokemon thrashed in his grip, letting out several sharp cries. Gible's onyx black eyes landed on Shadow, and the boy flinched at the pure, unadulterated terror residing there.

Their eyes locked and then his orange eyes dilated suddenly as the protective draconic urge flared inside him, a trait shared with him by legendary guardian.

They would pay.

_AN: So I'm going on vacation for winter break so don't expect any chapters for at least a month. I'm going to be gone for like a few weeks, and then I'm really unproductive so grinding out a chapter's gonna take some time. So sorry in advance, but thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!_


	14. Chapter 14

The raven haired boy was shouting something at the trio but Shadow dismissed it, distracted by the roar of rage rushing through his veins and pounding harshly in his ears. He could feel Luxray's piercing yellow eyes on him but he ignored it as he stepped forward, making sure his red pendant was safely tucked under his shirt and his hood was thrown over to cover his hair.

His movement drew the attention of both trios and he broke the silence with a low menacing tone, "What's that?" his eyes were fixed on the now-still bag.

The meowth grinned, and Shadow watched as the pokemon's eyes darted over him, taking in what he was wearing. "Hey! You looks rich. I think I've got what you might want," he gestured to the bag, letting the blue snout stick out enough for the pokemon inside to be visible before roughly shoving the gible back in. "So hows about it? This little dragon'll grow into a big, strong fella."

"Yeah, I'll take him," Shadow murmured, ignoring the pleased smirk from the meowth as he nodded at the bag, "Bring him to me."

Meowth's smile faded, "Look here kid, you give the money first, then you get the pokemon."

Shadow's eyes flicked back to the cat, "Wasn't talking to you." There was a second of confusion before Luxray erupted from the brush behind them, sinking his jaws into Meowth before throwing his head viciously to the side, slamming him into Dustox, before both made contact with a tree.

Luxray gently pawed at the bag, the gible tipping out of it and settling on the ground, staring around with wide obsidian eyes.

Shadow walked towards them before the blue-haired realized what was happening, "Hey! You can't just take the pokemon we successfully stole! That's stealing! Carnivine let's show them what happens to thieves!"

The cloaked boy ignored both Ash, who was furiously yelling at the male for his messed up logic, and... whatever was happening between the man and his pokemon. He seriously did not need that image in his head.

He let them sort it all out as he knelt next to Gible, hand outstretched before him. Gible watched warily, and when Shadow let his hand hover before the pokemon, Gible's eyes turned upwards to stare at him. They locked eyes, the boy letting his emotions shine through his eyes for the first time in what seemed like years. A breath of silence.

Then Gible's eyes closed, and his lips twitched up slightly at the sign of trust. He let his hand fall on the little dragon's head and rubbed the base of his fin. The pokemon let out a mix of a growl and a purr and he felt a true smile, however small, bloom on his face.

The moment was interrupted by a light growl from Luxray. Shadow tilted his head to meet the raven's eyes who was scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Hey, so sorry about before. Anyone who defends pokemon from Team Rocket is okay in my book!"

"Yeah," this time it was Brock who spoke up, "and I'm curious, your luxray is really strong, do you have other pokemon?"

Shadow lifted his right shoulder and let it fall in a half shrug, "I don't go around telling strangers my strengths or my weaknesses. Any idiot know that information is power."

He was surprised to note that Ash didn't look as angry about the implied insult and instead grinned widely, "Come on, let's have a battle!"

He blinked once, twice, and cocked his head, "What?"

"Yeah come on! It'll be fun and I can try to figure out your team!"

"Seriously? You couldn't even land a hit on Luxray," Shadow ignored Ash's spluttering and turned back to the gible, carefully gathering him in his arms, "and besides, I have to get him to the Pokemon Center."

The raven's sensible friend spoke up before he had a chance, "He's right Ash, the health of that gible is more important than a battle."

Ash frowned, "yeah, you're right," and before Shadow could head off with a sigh of relief, Ash started speaking again, "We'll come with you!"

He turned to stare the raven in the eye with a blank look before heaving a sigh of defeat, he recognized the determination blazing in those eyes. Nothing short of electrocuting him, which was considered, would get them off his tail.

"Fine, whatever."

Shadow turned and walked off before hearing their response, forcing them to hurry to catch up.

Ash had returned his torterra and pikachu was hitching a ride on his trainer's shoulder while Luxray prowled next to them.

"So, what's your name?" In the past half-an-hour of walking, he learned that Ash and Dawn were very talkative with Brock chipping in some times. Most of the questions so far were about his other pokemon, and when he refused to talk, the talk turned towards Luxray. His answers were vague and didn't really answer anything, but he noticed there was no hint of annoyance on any of their features.

The question caught him off guard and his step stuttered slightly before returning to the rhythmic pattern. "It doesn't matter."

For the next few minutes, Ash pestered him about it, but after being ignored the whole time, he eventually gave up.

The group crested a hill, and he was relieved to see the red and white building sitting there. They entered the center and he set Gible down before relaxing into a seat with Luxray. The trio used this time to heal up their own pokemon and followed the nurse to watch them get healed up.

When his name was called, he walked forward and grabbed a ball from his pouch. Gible seemed to understand his unspoken question and bumped the ball happily with his snout. The pokeball opened up and swallowed him in a flash of light.

It vibrated and shook a few times before clicking shut. Without a word, Shadow walked out of the pokemon center. He slipped a hand into his pocket and threw a ball into the air, Aerodactyl bursting out and landing on the ground.

Shadow grabbed a bump jutting out from the pokemon's spine and vaulted onto the fossil pokemon's back. With a beat of his powerful, bat-like wings, they lifted into the air.

"Wait!" the shout drew his attention to the entrance of the pokemon center. The trio had exited, Ash waving frantically to grab their attention.

"What's your name!" Shadow hesitated, he couldn't just tell them 'Shadow', if they ended up meeting anybody who knew that stage name, he would completely out himself. But he was also completely crap at coming up with fake names and barely anyone knew his real name, they couldn't tie it to him, so...

"I'm...


	15. Chapter 15

"I'm Salvador."

With that, Aerodactyl gave one more powerful stroke of his wings and flew over their heads, but he still heard Ash's voice on the wind.

"Sweet! Next time we meet, I'm totally gonna beat you!"

A slight smile quirked his lips. Amusing that he thought they would actually battle again, much less that he would win. Salvador settled on Aerodactyl's back and gently patted his side.

"Come on, no matter how much of an idiot he can be, he wouldn't call unless it was necessary."

_Before_

_"Mr. S, someone's requesting you on the phone."_

_Salvador glanced back at the nurse joy gesturing to the big green box they called a phone before grimacing. No way in hell would he answer that, no priacy at all._

_"Alright."_

_He made his way to the 'phone' and clicked the answer button. The idiot on the other side at least had the brain to cover up the camera so the screen was pitch black and didn't reveal their identity._

_Before the other person could speak, Salvador leaned into the microphone and hissed, "Call me on my personal phone next time if you don't want to get pounded into the ground."_

_There was a high-pitched squeak on the other side that drew some amused eyes before Sal smashed his finger into the hang up button, grinding his teeth in annoyance the whole time._

_Not a minute later, his phone buzzed quietly in his pocket and he drew a deep breath before bringing it up to his ear._

_"The hell do you want?"_

_"Sal, I can't explain right now, but you have to come over."_

_The serious tone on the other side gave him pause. His friend, for the lack of a better word, was rarely serious and his tone gave him a sense of foreboding._

_"Yeah ok, you still at the headquarters in-"_

_"Yeah, come over quick." With that, the phone clicked and he was left alone in thought. His brows furrowed as he pocketed his phone slowly. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious, his friend was a powerful trainer in his own right, they wouldn't even be acquaintances if he wasn't, and anything that had him worried was a cause for concern._

_Sal frowned and sat down on the bench, resolving to fly over immediately once his pokemon were healed. At the very least, he could always make fun of his friend for being too paranoid if it wasn't worth his time._

Present

Sal's orange eyes darted down to the forest when he felt a light current of electricity run over his skin. There. A small spark of yellow was flashing in a code he knew too well.

"Head down. Keep on your guard."

Aerodactyl gave a quiet affirmative grunt and veered down, his wing flaps becoming softer and softer as they masked their approach, using the clouds as cover.

Once they were straight over the sparking, Sal smirked.

"Let's make an entrance."

He reached up and brushed the mega stone hanging from his neck. He could feel Aerodactyl's amusement as the light connected and a spherical shape encased them briefly before shattering in dozens of pinpricks of light.

Aerodactyl roared, wings whipping out violently, and Sal only had a second to wrap his hands around his pokemon's horn spikes before his wings closed and they were plummeting.

Sal grinned, pressing himself against Aerodactyl's back, the lashing wind whipping his hair wildly in all different directions. He loved this, and he could tell through their connection, Aerodactyl did too, the pleasant hum sang in unison in their hearts as the forest floor got closer and closer, shrouded by the leaves of trees.

Seconds before hitting the canopy of leaves, Aerodactyl's wings flared out briefly before closing again and spinning quickly to avoid the branches. His clawed feet silently touched the ground with practiced ease, though their entrance wasn't exactly subtle.

A boy, a few years his senior, stood next to a towering Electivire, his grin infectious and sky-blue eyes gleaming with excitement and mischief.

"Sal! It's awesome to see you again!"

Salvador raised an eyebrow and casually dodged the cross between a tackle and a hug the other boy tried to give him. The momentum from the pounce sent the other rolling, but he sprang back up in a few seconds and turned around, looking unbothered by Salvador's unimpressed look.

He sighed, "What do you want Nero? It better be important."

The raven's grin faltered, his sky-blue eyes darkening as he held Salvador's orange eyes.

He held up two fingers, "Two things, Sal. One, Umbreon informed me you had a... run in with the champion." His lips pressed together and any idiot could tell he was unhappy, a rare thing with the excitable boy. "You were caught by the police, attacked by galactic, attacked again by galactic, rescued by Rockets, beat the crap out of a mouse, like seriously? and had another run in with rocket!"

"And two-"

At this point, Nero was pacing, a scowl firmly set on his face and Salvador withheld a sigh. Nero was a hyper, happy-go-lucky kid but saying he had a protective streak a mile wide was an understatement, especially concerning his "little brother."

It was really annoying and it could get extremely frustrating at times when Nero would flutter around him and bare his teeth at anyone that came close. Seriously annoying. That's what he told himself over and over as he violently shoved down the feeling of fondness warming his insides.

Nero was human. Salvador hated human. Therefore, Sal should hate Nero. He does. He definitely doesn't like the way he catches Nero cutting him concerned glances at times, or when the 11-year-old threatens other people when they make him uncomfortable, he can take care of himself, damn it! He hates the way Nero always acts like he's fragile and needs protecting. He hates it! Right...?

Credits to:

Randomystic on Webnovel for the name Salvador

liutianlong on WEbnovel for the name Nero

_A/N: The short of it for those that don't want to read more is that the updates will be even more sporadic than usual, maybe months, idk but I will try to keep updating. Below is the reason why so you can stop reading here if you want._

_For those of you still here, recently, for the past few months, I've been struggling with (diagnosed) depression and suicidal thoughts. It's been a really rough time and this story's kinda been shoved to the back of my mind. I'm definitely gonna keep updating when I can, but my motivation to do things is pretty low. I guess I'm saying this just to get it off my chest because I don't know how to say it in person. I'm bad at expressing my emotions and I don't really like confiding in people. Anyway, if I do go quiet for like more than a year without informing you guys, I really appreciated all the support I've been getting on this and it really makes my day when I read all your comments. I love all of you and for those of you that read to the end of this, thanks for reading this huge block of text and listening to my rant. See you in the next chapter, hopefully. Peace._


	16. Chapter 16

"Are you even listening Sal?" An exasperated sigh broke him out of his thoughts. He blinked, caught off guard, and Nero rolled his eyes, a fond smile breaking out on his face, "Honestly Sal, you're gonna make me old, grey, and grumpy with all the stress you give me."

Sal smirked as an image of his friend waving a cane around and shouting at kids to get off his lawn flashed in his mind, "You'd probably look better with grey hair, anything's an improvement to the way it is right now."

Nero gasped dramatically as he grabbed at his hair in mock offense, "You're just jealous that you're so short."

"That doesn't have anything to do with anything."

"Well, whatever, don't you wanna know why I called you here." It was stated as a fact, Nero knew his "little brother" enough to know that it would peak his interest.

And it did.

Sal frowned and crossed his arms as he waited for Nero to speak.

"Someone's been destroying rocket bases. Someone you might now."

Sal rolled his eyes, "Just tell me what's going on, stop beating around the bush."

Nero huffed, "You're so impatient! Seriously!" Sal's lips quirked up in amusement.

"It's the champion." His smirk fell.

"What?" he asked flatly.

"Yeah, everyone thinks it's your fault."

Sal took a deep breath and pinched his nose, "And you want me to deal with this?" One look at Nero's face told everything and he sighed, "Fine, but you're coming with me." Nero grinned,

"Aww you want me to come al-"

"I'll need a powerful trainer at my side," he said, cutting Nero off, "Come on." He hopped onto Aerodactyl's back, ignoring his friend's pouting as Nero returned Electivire and vaulted on behind him.

Aerodactyl pushed off the ground, letting his mega evolution form fade out as he soared into the air. When they were at a comfortable flying height, Sal spoke, "So, where to?"

"Headquarters, we had a report there was where they were gonna strike next."

Sal nodded and tapped Aerodactyl's right wing, steering him towards the right direction.

They arrived to a scene of chaos, fire was ranging, flying pokemon swarmed the sky, police pokemon and rocket pokemon clashed ferociously under them and right in the middle of things, was Cynthia, her garchomp blasting the hell out of everything it saw.

Sal swore under his breath and Aerodactyl pulled to a stop, circling as he allowed his trainer and passenger to survey the chaos unfolding below them. Before Sal could decide what to do, he heard a voice in his head, _my child, use my power._

Sal froze, he hadn't heard that voice in years, _Are you sure?_

_Yes, Rayquaza and I agreed, this is important for your future. I suspect your friend is getting the same information._

He glanced over at Nero. He looked completely shell-shocked, eyes wide and disbelieving. When the raven turned towards him, he nodded once and Nero grinned, giving a two fingered salute before he jumped off Aerodactyl's back, reaching into a pocket and tossing a ball out, a flygon appearing with a deafening roar, drawing eyes from every corner of the battlefield.

The last he could see of his friend was dark green starting to streak through his hair. He would be safe. Rayquaza would protect him. _And I you._ The feminine voice uttered and he nodded, closing his eyes and feeling for the power his patron offered him. The shadowy tendrils whispered to him and he grasped onto them for the first time in years. Giratina's image flared in his mind. _I apologize, for everything. _He heard the last whispered words before everything was drowned out by a rush of power.

His eyes, now red with a black sclera, snapped open, red streaks appearing through his midnight black hair. Sal felt the power surge through Aerodactyl as he mega evolved once again and added that power to the patron power he indulged in.

Aerodactyl roared and unleashed a stream of hyper beams through the police forces, sending multiple pokemon and their trainers flying, allowing the rockets a chance to push the attack. But this had drawn the attention of the most powerful threat on the battlefield.

Garchomp had launched itself into the sky, wheeling to face them as her trainer stayed safely on the ground, a gastrodon looming over her protectively.

No matter, Sal's blood-red eyes narrowed, with Giratina's power, they could win.

His hand's tightened on one of Aerodactyl's spine spikes as the pokemon felt his intent and rocketed towards the champion standing solitarily on the ground.

Garchomp let him pass, immediately tailing him once he passed and Aerodactyl landed in fron of the champion with a heavy thud, lips curling into a snarl and eyeing the circling garchomp warily.

_A/N: Hey so I recently started a new choose your own adventure book over on webnovel that you guys can go check out if you want. It's called Pokemon: Son of Legend and it'd be great if you guys participated. I'm definitely not dropping this book but the idea just wouldn't go away.  
_


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